Beneath The Flesh
by asteriskss
Summary: Dean stumbles upon Castiel, an angel who is hurt and has lost contact with heaven. Dean tries to figure out how he can help but comes up with nothing so Sam does some researching and finds a binding spell. He binds Cas and Dean so the angel can heal faster. They just didn't take Castiel's warnings about the cons seriously.
1. Fallen Theory

**A/N**: This is kind of a merge of seasons events. A bit of S7 with the Leviathans, and S4 with the realization that angels exist and soon S9 with the falling of the angels. I'm just putting a different spin on them!

* * *

It was another ordinary night for Dean Winchester. Well in his case it was literally a normal ordinary night compared to usual. After dealing with the Leviathans who had tried to take over, Sam and Dean took a much needed break. They never thought they'd take a vacation from hunting but their last battle wrecked havoc on their lives. They lost their father and Jo and Judy in the process of the battle. That was only the tip of the iceberg of loved ones they lost and not to mention Sam almost died. So yeah, no one blamed them when they found out the Winchester's were off duty until further notice. They did just save the world after all, that allowed for temporary retirement.

It had been exactly three months since they hung up their hunting gear. Sam took the opportunity to go back to school and Dean bought himself a nice place out on the lake. It was cheap since the place was pretty much destroyed but Dean fixed it up and made it worth triple the original amount he paid for. There were a few other houses near but they were spaced around the lake. It was mostly a bunch of _'old farts'_ as Dean described them to Sam with the exception of the woman who was drop dead gorgeous. But of course she was married and off limits.

Dean wasn't tired even though it was 2am in the morning. He had been conditioned to staying up late so it didn't really bother him. Though to make matters worse, there was a looming light practically glowing through his window. He tried to ignore it and at one point he closed the curtains but the brightness grew brighter.

Dean, clearly irritated, slipped on his shoe and held the other in his hand as he stalked out to investigate when his better mind said stay out of it. He assumed it was probably some kids from the high schools sneaking out of the city to party but it was too quiet for that scenario. He threw open the curtains and spotted the source of the glowing mystery.

The lake.

"What the hell-" he murmured to himself as his eyes scanned the medium sized lake. His mind said ignore it, it's just some stupid fucking fish or something. His better mind- his instincts said, go check it out.

With an incoherent grumble he slipped on his other shoe before exiting his home. "I'm that fucking chick who dies in the first five minutes of a horror flick," he said. "I just had to go and get the fucking urge to investigate and I bet I end up running from something in the woods too." He half joked.

The entire lake was a tinted blue that seemed to shift to a more defined glowing teal. He stared long enough before he locked eyes onto a shadowy figure floating face down in the water.

Damn.

He knew he should have stayed in the house.

Dean reversed his actions from earlier and discarded his shoes and a few heavy pieces of clothing and entered the lake. "Son of a bitch this water is cold." He ranted. Of course there was the need to assist when there was the possibility of someone actually drowning in the lake so he felt obligated. Plus, after seeing the figure floating there he couldn't bring himself to just walk away and pretend there was nothing there.

That just wasn't who Dean Winchester was.

Once he was actually in the water the glowing dulled down to a dim shimmer then nothing. It was darker now and the porch light in the distance barely provided him enough light to find the figure. Luckily he had a general idea of where to go. He swam over to the figure and just as he expected, it was a person. How no one else had taken notice of the piercing bright light that gave the allusion of something superior was beyond him.

He hauled the body out of the water and did the standards to save a drowning victim but there was no response. "Shit. I bet this is some kind of liability thing..." He groaned to himself. "Damn it, wake up!" He shook the guy and a groan erupted from the mysterious man's mouth. "Wow that actually worked." He muttered with a goofy grin.

Dean's breath finally steadied and he rolled his eyes. Despite his calm demeanor he was in fact internally freaking out. He weighed his options and was torn between calling the ambulance or just bringing the guy inside to rest. "You son of a bitch." He cursed at the man. That's when he noticed; there were multiple deep puncture wounds on his sides and a huge gash on his head. Obviously this guy was attacked and Dean couldn't ignore the faint smell of sulfur in the air.

Shit.

Had this guy been possessed? Was that why there were knife wounds? He couldn't involve the authorities now. "Shit, okay." He stood and pulled the surprisingly light man up with him. Once in the house he ran a few tests, you know, iron, salt, exorcism, silver, holy water, etc. The man passed them all with flying colors so he wasn't sure what the hell was happening. All he could do was tend to the wounds and wait for the mysterious floater to awaken.

Dean discarded the bloodied trench coat first and threw it in a pile on the floor. Soon, he disrobed the man and catered to the wounds and bandaged him up. When he finished he took the man to his bedroom and let him occupy the bed since obviously he wasn't logging this guy up two flights of stairs. Nope, there was no chance in hell that was happening.

It was 4:57am when Dean finally settled down and he still wasn't tired. He huffed and slid down on the couch and tried to keep his mind focused. All he could think about was that mysterious glow.

* * *

The next morning Dean is still asleep on the couch. He started to stir because there is this feeling that he's being watched and he can sense it behind his eyelids. His eyes darted open and there he's greeted with a nearly naked man staring at him. Dean jumped of course because, what the fuck man? He didn't even remember falling asleep but that issue could be addressed later.

"Okay, dude. Personal space- actually, EXTRA personal spaces since you're practically naked."

He tilted his head in confusion and Dean sighed.

"Take a few steps back."

He took exactly four steps away from Dean. "My apologies."

Dean grumbled. "What the fuck man." He rubbed his head and dragged out another sigh. "What's your name?"

"Castiel." He answered, expression fixed to a solemn stare.

Right when Dean was about to speak Castiel winced and grabbed at his side. Suddenly his wings fluttered out involuntarily with a huge gust of wind.

Dean might have screamed but he wouldn't acknowledge that and would deny it if anyone ever asked. "WHAT THE HELL!" He scrambled out of his seat and moved back until he was pressed against the wall. "Seriously, what the actual fuck!?"

Castiel tried to retract his wings but that was easier said than done. "My apologies, I was injured with an angel blade which immobilizes my healing capabilities. I-" He paused for a moment. "I'm experiencing immense pain that's forcing my wings out."

Dean stared wide-eyed at him.

"You are frightened. That was not my intentions."

Dean continued to stare.

"I am grateful for your assistance but I must take my leave now."

"Like hell you are. You're gonna tell me what's going on."

"I fell."

"From what, the fucking Empire State Building? And what the hell is an angel blade?"

"I fell from heaven and angel blades are a weapon of choice of my brethren."

Dean laughed but stopped when he saw the guy's serious expression. "You aren't kidding are you?" He covered his mouth. "God, you're one of the exaggerated church guys, aren't you?"

"Pardon?"

Dean examined the wings from a far and they looked really real. If he wasn't slightly terrified he would have moved closer to inspect the _not_-wings on the man's back. "You're serious?"

Castiel nodded.

"Okay, damn. Stay here." Dean swiveled around the room making sure to keep as much distance between them as possible. Rushing into the bedroom he grabbed his cell phone then shut and locked the door behind him.

He called Sam.

As the phone rang he took notice of the dozen of feathers all over the bedroom. "This can't be real."

"What can't be real?" Sam inquired.

"Dude. Get over here now. Emergency."

"What? I'm still on the road. I just left your place last night."

"I don't care. Turn your ass around and get back here. ASAP."

"What's going on?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

* * *

Four hours later Sam pulled into the driveway and he let himself into the house since he had a key. He stopped in the doorway when he saw Castiel standing in front of the couch, wings and all.

Dean stayed held up in the bedroom. He wasn't coming out until Sam got there.

"Dean?" He shouted out but eyes staying on the- whatever that was in his brother's living room.

Dean exited the bedroom and just nodded. "I know."

"Dean..."

"Angels don't exist, Sammy."

"You have no faith." Castiel finally spoke.

Dean huffed.

"May I move now?"

Dean raised a brow. "What?"

"You demanded that I stay here."

Dean rubbed his head and nodded. "Sure, I mean, I didn't expect you to actually stay put but sure. You can move."

Sam blinked. "You're an angel?"

"Yes, I'm Castiel an angel of The Lord."

Dean couldn't fathom this. "And you expect us to believe this?"

"No. I have no desire to sway your opinion on the existence of my kind. Nor do I wish to explore your faith." He finally moved and kept his hand over his side. "I must go."

"You're hurt." Dean said.

"I will be fine."

Sam raised a brow. "What happened to you?"

"Demons. I underestimated the force of the bunch."

"You were attacked by demons?" Sam added on.

"Yes. 45 of them. I managed to kill them all but at costs because of my injuries of course."

"Wait, so the 45 demons didn't do this to you?" Dean wondered.

"No. My brother attacked me with the angel blade and I fell. He's shut off my communication with the others and I-" his wings fluttered again and his wounds were bleeding through the bandages. "I am having troubles healing. My brother slightly injured my grace."

"Your grace?" Sam was really intrigued by it all. He believed in God and angels, the whole nine yards so this happening now was great- well minus the injuries of course. He never thought that he would actually come face-to-face with an angel and he always wondered what they would look like. He imagined like the status and pictures from the lure but it was the total opposite.

"It is what you humans would call your life force."

"Like a soul?"

Castiel nodded. "Yes."

Dean watched the blood drip down his sides and he shook his head. "You can't leave like that. You won't make it out the door. Shit, look at your wing, man. Puncture wounds everywhere." He wasn't all into the _faith _talk and believing in a higher power considering how their life turned out after being forced into hunting. So he felt justified when he didn't buy the whole _angel of the lord spiel. _Still, there was something so legit about the situation. Hell, if demons could exist, why couldn't angels?

Castiel knew his state was bad but he would be fine. So he believed.

"We're going to heal you up."

"It is not that simple. My grace is injured. That is not repairable by human remedies."

Sam smiled softly. "We can find something to help. I'm sure there is something in the books."

Dean rubbed the side of his face. He knew Sam was excited because he could see all of the questions that he wanted to ask written on his face. This was right up Sam's alley. When he felt intense eyes on him again Dean shifted uncomfortably and cleared his throat. "Dude, that's creepy."

"My apologies." He looked away and Dean felt even more uncomfortable now.

Sam went to the dining room table and motioned for Dean to bring him his laptop that he kept stashed at Dean's house. He went right into research. He obviously missed the supernatural world.

* * *

Dean spent the next few hours trying to stop the bleeding and Castiel was looking paler and weaker by the moment. His wings were drooping and his eyes were glowing like the water that night. He wouldn't say that he was ready to turn over a new leaf and become a choirboy but- but he was considering this whole angel of the lord bit.

"I think I found something. So get this."

Dean smiled at the familiar words. "Yeah, Sammy?"

"It's not ideal but it'll keep him from dying."

"Wait! You're dying?" Dean asked frantically.

Castiel stared at him. "Perhaps, grace injuries are nearly always fatal unless not deeply wounded."

"And yours?"

"I am missing pieces."

"Damn it, Cas."

Castiel made a face at the name but questioned nothing.

"I'm not watching an angel die, Sammy. What can we do?" He may not have trusted the guy but he wouldn't let a potential angel die on his watch. That would be wrong on so many levels.

"You're not going to like this."

"Do we have to lose an arm?" He groaned.

"No but it's a new level of bonding."

"What?"

"I found a binding ritual that will bind a link to the injured."

"Binding how?"

"In every way possible."

"So what about the pros and cons? Does someone just bind with this dude and share some healing mojo and swoosh, good as new?"

"Pros; healing faster, repairs other wordy injuries, location tracker? I think I read that right. Cons, doesn't really specify."

Castiel shook his head. "No."

Dean focused back on the angel. "What?"

"Binding rituals are not a good solution. It is Irreversible."

Sam spoke softly. "You will die."

"Then it will be my fate."

"Dude, you can't expect us to just let you die without trying to help. That's like a first class ticket to hell for us. That's not who we are. What's the worst that comes with this ritual?"

Castiel slightly pouted, mimicking a face he witnessed Dean making earlier. "I do not wish to be bound to anyone. The other end will be in danger."

"Welcome to our world. We're always in danger." Sam chimed.

Castiel felt like there was no use to reason with the humans. "You do not take demands well?"

"Nope." The cooed together.

Dean smiled and placed a hand on Castiel's shoulder. "We're gonna help you, buddy."

* * *

Another hour of debate and Castiel trying to reason with the Winchester brothers resulted in the ritual being initiated. Sam and Dean discussed who should be the person to do it and Dean seemed like the best candidate. Plus, Dean couldn't read the ritual.

"The blood of the two destined to be bound. Consent on both ends, and-" he looked at Dean. "And a small piece of life exchange."

"What?"

"You know like, a piece of your soul for his grace."

Dean was regretting this already but he wouldn't back out. He pulled this guy- this angel from the lake and since then he's felt responsible for him. God worked in mysterious ways, right? "Okay, cool. Let's do this."

Sam took the knife that's made of human bones that the ritual requires and sliced Dean's right hand and Castiel's left. They drained a huge amount of blood into the bowl and Sam resumes reading the ritual's text.

There was an eerie silence when Sam finished. Dean suddenly keeled over in pain, and then Castiel followed. The exchange is happening and obviously it's painful.

After 30 minutes of feeling like someone was cutting your body apart it finally ended. Castiel's external wounds instantly heal as does the wound on Dean's hand.

Castiel is soon able to retract his wings and he breathes a bit easier now. Once his wings are hidden he looked up at Sam and spoke softly. "Thank you." The incessant bolts of pain shooting through his body finally decreased and it's now a dull throbbing sensation.

"Oh shit." Dean groaned and wobbled a bit before catching against the wall. He grabbed at his side and bit his lip hard.

"Dean, you okay?"

"Sammy, I can feel it- I can feel him." Castiel earned a glance. "What the hell did they do to you?" He asked as he reluctantly slid down the wall and took a deep breath. His breathing was heavy now and all he wanted was to curl up and scream. "Man, you've been silently dealing with this pain? Damn."

Castiel stared at Dean for a moment before approaching him. This is not what he wanted the outcome to be. "I am sorry." He placed a finger on his forehead and Dean gasped.

"It's gone."

"I did not want you to endure that. That is mine alone but you are-" he squinted. "You are clawing at my brain, my thoughts, my everything."

"What?"

"I installed a wall on my end to keep you from experience my current state."

Sam covered his mouth. "Dean. This bind, when it said connected in every way possible it meant _every way_. The mind, the body, the soul, you share thoughts, emotion, pain, memories, everything."

Dean groaned. "Son of a bitch. So I'm practically married."

Of course that was his first concern.


	2. Forbidden

**Summary:** Dean thought he was used to being linked to an angel but each day that passes proves him wrong. In the meantime, answers of why Castiel was forced down to earth are close to being revealed.

* * *

A few weeks had passed and Dean was handling the whole binding situation pretty well. There were still moments when he was overwhelmed but Castiel helped by taking away most of the shared issues.

Saying that there were side effects was a huge understatement. If Dean was upset, sad, excited, confused, aroused, anything, Castiel felt it. Dean didn't fully understand the concept but he occasionally felt what was going on with Castiel when the angel was sleeping. Other than that there was a wall up when he was awake.

Castiel sheltered Dean from the full force of the bind since now they both were practically one person using two bodies.

* * *

Castiel was around long enough to discover that Dean had a set routine nearly everyday. Each day long and mostly uneventful.

Fridays usually went slow since he wasn't on the road or on a hunt. Sam, if he was in town, would meet up with Dean at a bar and they'd spend time with each other until closing time. Sam wasn't in town a lot since he stayed focused on school but he made sure not to stay away for more than two weeks. Dean even drove from Glenbrook, Nevada to Stanford so he could visit. They didn't want to drift apart and it was only a 6 hour drive.

This particular Friday started off exceptionally different from the slow routine Dean fell into. Sam came back to Nevada Thursday morning since his school was on some kind of break. They went out drinking that same night to start off the vacation the right way. The brothers tried to convince Castiel to come along but he politely declined which they understood since they were sure angels didn't drink alcohol.

Regardless, that wasn't what made _this_ Friday so different from his new routine.

* * *

Sam and Dean had arrived at the bar around 7:40ish Thursday night and didn't leave until 1am. Time flew since they were catching up on how Sam was doing in school and how Dean was handling the binding ritual. Then there was talk about the lack of supernatural activity but they hadn't actually been keeping track so they couldn't really comment on the matter.

1 o'clock in the morning sneaked up on them but it was time to call it quits for two reasons. One, It was closing time. Two, Dean made a great wing-man because Sam went home with a hot brunette who just happened to be from California.

Dean caught a cab home and actually loaned his brother the Impala. It wasn't like he could drive anyway, he was beyond intoxicated. How in the hell was Sam still coherent? When he actually thought about it, he didn't see Sam drink more than three beers.

_Still_, that wasn't what changed his usual Friday mornings.

What happened that following morning threw him off.

* * *

The next morning Dean stretched then groaned when he realized that there was another body next to him. He refrained from opening his eyes since he knew the sun would be beaming through his window. His head was pounding and he wasn't sure if it was caused by the countless bottles of beer and vodka shots he consumed last night or the rush of Castiel's memories forcing its way into his mind.

"Oh," he whispered to himself. Castiel was sleeping because that's the only time he had access to the angel's mind. It always came across as bits and pieces so he never was able to connect the dots and form a full story. He didn't bother asking because if Castiel wanted to share it then he would have.

It took him a while before he remembered his first initial thought; someone was in his bed with him. He was about 93% sure that he came home alone last night so who the hell was in his bed? It didn't occur to him that it was Castiel because they could hear each others' thoughts no matter if they were in the same room or on opposite sides of the world so he assumed the angel was upstairs.

Finally working up the nerve, he opened his eyes and only caught a small glimpse of light shining through— feathers? He narrowed his eyes and brought a hand up to brush over the dark veil of feathers surrounding him.

His first instinct was to examine like he wanted to when he was first saw the beautiful wings. His fingertips glided over midnight black feathers with delicacy. They were soft- almost like silk but better. He had long forgotten about the main issue at hand; Castiel was in bed with him. He found himself not caring because he was more occupied with the wings that were overlapping his body, sheltering him from the light and cold air coming through the window. He didn't want to be mesmerized but that was inevitable.

Castiel shivered at the attention to his wings and they fluttered with a slight gust of wind.

Dean pulled his hand away and wondered if he did that. To test that theory out he lightly brushed his fingers down the middle of the wing and waited for an response.

Castiel moaned and Dean stopped.

There was an arm thrown over his midsection and their legs were tangled so he quietly maneuvered out of the awkward position he was in. Dean panicked because hello, what the fuck happened? He looked down at himself and noticed he had on underwear and Castiel had on long flannel pajama pants. _Good._

So maybe nothing happened.

He fled the room and tried to ignore some memory about a guy named Balthazar because he was through with trying to decipher Castiel's memories.

He called Sam instead because maybe he could shed some light on the situation. Then again, little brother was out having a wonderful encounter with a very hot brunette. He recalled the woman saying her name but the alcohol did him no favors with trying to remember the name.

"Dean?"

"Sammy? Dude, I dunno what's going on." He whispered.

"What do you mean?"

"I woke up in bed with Cas."

Sam laughed until he realized Dean wasn't kidding. "You serious?" He knew Dean was drunk but wow, to go home and sleep with an angel was a new level of hammered.

"I wouldn't joke about this!" He half shouted but brought his voice down, careful not to wake the angel.

"You're so going to Hell."

"I didn't sleep with him," he growled. "I don't think. I just woke up wrapped in his wings." Very soft and luxurious wings that he secretly enjoyed touching. What? He totally wasn't thinking that.

"How does someone forget sex with an angel but remembers angel cuddling."

"Shut up!" He was sure that using sex and angel in the same sentence was some kind of sin. "And I wasn't cuddling- I don't cuddle!"

"Just talk to him. I'm sure if something happened he'll tell you."

"Thanks Sammy, you were a real big help. All of my problems are solved." He groaned.

"Not a problem." He teased.

"Bitch."

"Jerk~"

And that's how their phone call ended.

* * *

Dean felt a huge relief when Castiel's thoughts stopped but an entirely new anxiety overcame him. Castiel was awake now.

That called for interactions.

The angel exited the bedroom and instantly stared at Dean.

Dean stared right back and tried to keep his head clear because he knew Castiel could extract information with ease. "Um, good morning, Cas." Something did happen, he just knew it.

**Dean, we did not have intercourse**. Castiel said but Dean didn't see his lips move.

"What the hell?"

**I apologize but your thoughts are strong at the moment, it could not be ignored**.

Dean rolled his eyes and cleared his throat. "I um- wasn't talking about that. You just fucking talked but not really."

"My apologies. You do not like communicating that way?" He finally said out loud.

"Shit, it's pretty cool. I didn't know we could do it to be honest. How?"

"Think."

**Your wings are soft**.

"Thank you."

Dean flushed and glanced back to the television. He didn't think that was actually going to work.

"I have little to no control of my wings at night."

"I noticed."

The room went silent for a moment then Dean spoke again.

"So how did uh, you know?"

"I assisted you."

Dean groaned at how- wrong that sounded and Castiel's tone made it sound even worse. He made it sound like a transaction. "Did I defile an angel?"

"You arrived home in pain, a headache. I was in the upstairs room and your body was also shivering."

Dean raised a brow. "You sensed I was cold?"

Castiel nodded.

"Well fuck." And here he thought he established all he could with the bind. "You um, yeah you didn't have to do that. I would have warmed up eventually."

"I could not ignore it. The sensation grew stronger and stronger with each second that passed. I could not rest until you were situated."

Dean bit his lip and just nodded. "Sorry about that but yeah man, thanks." He would make a mental note- okay an actual tangible note that Castiel didn't understand how some things were kind of inappropriate to do in the middle of the night.

Still, angel cuddling was pretty damn great.

* * *

Dean updated Sam with the news; he wasn't going to hell for sexing up an angel. Sam teased him of course but eased up eventually. He would give it a few more weeks then continue his teasing. It's what they did and this was just too big of a topic to just drop after a few days of torture.

"Sammy said he'd be here later to drop off my car. We're gonna go fishing today, you in?"

"Am I in what?" Castiel questioned.

"Do you want to go fishing?"

"If that is what you wish, yes."

"Dude, it's not up to what I want, do _you_ want to?"

Castiel just nodded. He enjoyed spending time with the Winchesters. When Sam visited, they often all sat in the living room and watch sports and Castiel couldn't grasp why the players were chasing a ball around. It was all new to him, human interactions, learning of their habitual ways. It was fascinating. He might not have been fully healed yet but he could handle leaving the house to learn how to fish. He hadn't left since the day he crashed into the lake.

* * *

Over the last few weeks he had been keeping a road block up so Dean didn't have to handle the pain from his grace injuries. He recently discovered that Dean received glimpses of things while he slept and he couldn't shelter the hunter from that.

Dean never asked questions and that pleased Castiel because humans always asked questions about the things they thought didn't exist. Dean was different and that often had Castiel wondering what was in Dean's mind. He never once tried to use the bind to see what Dean was thinking or look at the memories. Granted, current thoughts on the surface flowed straight to Castiel but anything beyond that, he would not go near unless told to by Dean.

Dean on the other hand was curious and scratched at Castiel's wall like a puppy locked out of its home. He might not have been trying to but Castiel felt the man trying to get through.

"Dean?" He called out.

"Yeah?"

"You are curious, yes?"

"About?"

"Everything?"

Dean realized he was talking about the bind. "Well yeah, it's not every day that you're linked to an angel." He wondered if Castiel knew he had been trying to get past the wall.

"I have the wall in place to protect you from my injuries. I feel you trying to gain access. I feel you now."

Dean laughed nervously. "I'm sorry. Every time I think about it I get curious. Don't tell me you don't wonder."

"I do not enter your mind at all. You have given me no permission to do so."

Dean raised a brow. "Not even once?"

"It is not my place."

Now Dean felt like crap since he spent the last 2 and a half weeks attempting to probe the angel's head. "Sorry, man."

"It is fine. If you wish to have access I will lower the wall but you will have access to everything."

Dean weighed his options and he was sure he could handle the pain. A lot of time had passed; it wouldn't be as bad as that first day, right? "If you don't mind."

Castiel nodded and dropped his wall. He held back everything from rushing to Dean all at once because that could be overwhelming.

Dean felt like he was on some kind of hallucinatory drug because his body felt light and tingly. It was a nice sensation until his heart began to ache. He lightly clutched at his chest and soon everything faded out. He couldn't hear anything. Images and thoughts flowed into his mind. He was sure he just saw snapshots of a war. He stiffened and could feel Castiel's wounds and it wasn't like before, it was worse.

He began to shake.

He could hear Castiel calling out to him but it was like a faint whisper in the distance. Soon it grew louder and seemed soothing. Then there was a tight grip on his shoulders and he snapped away from the merging of their minds.

"Focus on my voice." Castiel repeated.

Dean kept hold on the deep voice and blocked out everything else. "Dude, how in the hell do you keep all of this in your head?" He complained, reaching up and gripping on to one of Castiel's arms.

"Many centuries of practice."

Dean huffed. "Of course."

* * *

Another week goes by and Dean gets more and more creative with getting Castiel out of the house. The first was fishing, then a little hiking expedition that he might or might not have tricked Cas into. Today though was different because they were alone this time on the outing. Sam was always with them and to just suddenly shift to two people brought a sense of anxiety to Dean for reasons that were unknown to him.

"Dean," the angel started but never continued. He wasn't sure but he didn't care too much for little boats.

"It's not that bad." Dean read Cas' thoughts. Oddly enough he grew more comfortable with the idea of sharing one mind. Castiel even from time to time (with permission of course) would skim Dean's mind.

To say the least, Dean liked it.

"This is not sturdy. We will—" His thought was cut short by the boat capsizing and forcing both of the occupants into the water.

Castiel resurfaced first and wiped water from his eyes. Moments later, Dean joined him but he was laughing. "Okay, maybe I'm not the best rower but shit, I still did better than you, Mr. This Is Not Sturdy."

Castiel snorted and that caught Dean off guard.

Dean was rubbing off on him because Castiel was picking up some of his behaviors. He was convinced again that he was going to Hell for corrupting an angel.

* * *

Later that night, Castiel was bed ridden. It happened out of nowhere and he was sure it was grace related so he gave him space and let him rest. It was dark out and he was locking up so he could also head to bed. Castiel was in his bed so he decided to just sleep in Cas' bed for the night. No need to bother him right?

When he entered the room, it wasn't empty. There were two men standing there and they didn't look familiar- actually, one of them did. "You—"

"Not now." The significantly shorter one spoke.

Dean rolled his eyes. "Excuse me?"

"Don't be so needy, buttercup. We don't have time for small talk, we're here for business. You have something of ours."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Dean interjected.

The other man spoke this time, his voice was soft and accented. He was British. "Okay, where's our brother? He's about," he paused and raised his hand to represent his own height. "Yay-high with a tan trench coat that I wish he would burn already."

That's when it clicked.

"Balthazar! That's why I recognized you." He smiled thinking about the memories he received from Castiel on the man- angel.

Balthazar grinned. "My reputation precedes me." He took the moment of silence to look over Dean then to his brother.

The short man rolled his eyes. "I'm Gabriel, if you're wondering."

Dean was tempted to shake his head just to piss the guy off but the curiosity of the angel's name did cross his mind. "Castiel is sleeping."

"Why?" Gabriel asked. Angel's didn't particularly need sleep, it was optional if anything.

"He was fucking hurt because one of you assholes decided to send him to earth.

They didn't realize that Dean was aware of angels.

"Ooh, this trip just keeps getting better and better." Balthazar cooed, tapping his lips. "Where is Cassie exactly?"

"None of your business."

They couldn't pinpoint Castiel's location because the bind broke Castiel's connection to his brethren.

"Okay, lover boy, we don't have all day." Gabriel groaned.

"You're not taking him anywhere. For all I know, you're the one who banged him up that night."

"It is fine, Dean." A voice murmured from behind the hunter. The angel placed a hand on Dean's shoulder to motion for him to step aside. "They are not the enemy." He nodded to Balthazar and Gabriel before taking a seat on the bed. Standing was too much effort. "Why are you here?"

"We've been looking for you for weeks, little bro." Gabriel huffed. "You just disappeared with no word."

"Uriel," was Castiel's only response.

"We figured since after questioning him he disappeared.

Dean cleared his throat. "Yeah so uh anyone want to clue me in on what's going on?"

"We thank you for taking care of our brother but we'll take over from here now."

Dean glanced at Castiel who made no protest and his heart kind of sank. He wouldn't lie, he really liked having Castiel around but he wasn't sure how to put that into words without making the situation seem clingy or mushy. He settled for a final glance at the older brothers. "Where are you taking him?"

"Somewhere safer."

"There is nowhere safer than with a Winchester." But that statement worked both ways, you either lived or died when around a Winchester and the fatality rate was outweighing the survival.

"Your track record doesn't reflect very well so we'll take our chances elsewhere."

Castiel stood and balanced himself before moving to Dean. "I want to thank you for your assistance, Dean. I must take my leave." He still wanted to keep Dean separate from the problems that were occurring in Heaven. If anyone (and by anyone he meant Uriel) found out about the bind he had with Dean, all Hell would break loose.

Literally.


	3. Let's Talk About Heaven

**Summary**: Dean finds that he was more attached to Castiel than he thought. Meanwhile, a few things about the problems occurring in heaven are revealed to the Winchester brothers. Gabriel and Castiel take the lead, along with Sam and Dean, to figure out what's going on with the angel murders.

* * *

Dean felt like he was on edge. It had been exactly a month since he last saw Castiel and it was driving him crazy considering that they were bound to one another. Those weeks spent with Castiel impacted him with a lot of force. It might not have been a long period of time but it still meant something. He considered the angel a friend.

It was soon brought to his attention by Sam that he had been really moody since the angel left but of course he denied it. He tried to play it off by blaming it on lack of sleep but Sam knew better. Still, Dean wouldn't lie, he had tried to get into Cas' head to see what was going on with him but that wall had been stronger than before. He felt like a teen waiting for their crush to text them.

**'Dammit, Cas.'** He thought.

**'I am sorry, have I done something wrong?'** Castiel responded.

Dean narrowed his eyes. '**Are you friggin' kidding me?'** If he had of known that was all he had to do to get in contact with him then he would have done it weeks ago. '**No, Cas, you didn't do anything wrong I just- shit, I didn't know if you were okay or not. I haven't heard any of your thoughts since you and your brothers went all Donnie Brasco.'**

**'We are not this Donnie you speak of.'**

**'Dude, did I teach you nothing about films when you were here?'**

**'I am afraid that was not a part of your collections.'**

**'It so was, we just didn't get a chance to get that far.'**

Castiel didn't even have to be there to know that Dean had just rolled his eyes. His time with Dean gave him the chance to observe the hunter's actions and speech. **'What can I help you with, Dean?**'

**'Nothing man, I just uh, I just wanted to check up on you. You know, to make sure you aren't crashing into any more lakes.'** He said with a snort.

Castiel smiled. **'I assure you that I am not in any lakes, Dean.'**

**'Good to know.'**

Their thoughts fell flat for a moment before Castiel broke the silence. **'I must attend to my duties, Dean. Thank you for your concern.'**

**'Uh, not a problem.'**

Finally making contact with his feathered friend made Dean feel a bit better. He wasn't too okay with Balthazar and Gabriel just whisking him away like they did but he was even more upset that Castiel just let them with no resistance. He wasn't even sure why that upset him.

* * *

Sam had stopped by before heading back to school and he noticed the difference in Dean's attitude. He was smiling, eating more like he used to, and actually leaving the house again. Dean didn't even have to tell him but he knew it was angel related. Sam told him to call if anything came up and he'd come back as soon as possible.

Dean had called it a night around midnight because his battle with exhaustion won and Sam had hit the road again. Of course once he settled in bed his exhaustion shifted to a bolt of energy which caused his mind to wander. He wondered what exactly was going on upstairs with Castiel and with heaven in general. He wanted to ask but he knew he wouldn't receive an answer since that was on _need to know basis_.

"You are curious, yes?" Castiel asked.

Dean thought it was Castiel in his head but he jumped and pulled his gun out when he felt eyes on him. "Dammit, Cas! I'm a fucking hunter; you don't sneak up on me!" He rubbed his face in frustration and locked eyes on the dimly lit shadow standing in front of his bed. Those blue eyes nearly glowed in the darkness. "Not that I'm not happy to see you, but shit, what the hell are you doing here?"

"The angels are displeased with my absence from a month ago. They are baffled with the lack of communication I suppose."

"The bind?"

"The bind which they mustn't know about, they cannot get into my head and that bothers them. They are curious but Gabriel convinced them that it was due to my grace being injured."

"But you're okay up there, right?"

"Yes of course. I have what you would say, _'time to blow_'."

Dean threw his legs over the side of the bed and stood. "Good, good." He walked over to the angel to check him out and confirm for himself that Cas was okay. "The wounds healed alright?"

"Yes."

"Good." He glanced over at clock on his nightstand and made a disgruntled sound. "Cas, you have time to blow at 4am in the morning?"

"Yes, you may rest. I will watch over you."

Dean raised a brow. "Uh, yeah that's a little creepy. So how about we watch TV instead?"

"You are exhausted, yes?"

"Dude, kind of, but I um..." He paused and tried to figure out which words to use. He didn't want to sleep because Castiel was back and he wanted to catch up and be around him because who knew how long he'd be around for.

"Rest." He brought two of his fingers up to Dean's forehead and he dropped instantly onto the bed. "I will be here when you awaken."

* * *

9 'o clock rolled around quickly and Dean groaned as he shuffled around under the covers. "Shit." He mumbled as he sat up. To his left was Castiel sitting upright at the edge of the bed. "Tell me you haven't been like that since- since whatever you did to me."

"I induced sleep for you and yes, I have. I said I would watch over you."

"I didn't think you meant literally. Is this what angels do? Creep around humans and _literally_ watch them?"

"We do not _'creep'_, Dean."

"Uh-huh, sure, and I don't love pie." He crawled out of bed and dragged himself into the bathroom.

Castiel followed.

Dean stopped when he felt Castiel hovering behind him. "Uh, Cas?"

"Yes, Dean?"

"Bathroom time is personal time, buddy."

"My apologies." He took a few steps back and the door closed in his face.

* * *

Dean came out of the bathroom showered and dressed but Cas wasn't in the room anymore. "Damn." He exited the bedroom and spotted Castiel on the couch with his hands in his lap. "I thought you left."

"No."

Dean smiled and plopped down next to him. "So uh, how has heaven been treating you?"

Castiel looked at Dean.

"Um, ignore what I just said." He laughed flatly and shifted in his spot. Why was he so nervous?

"I knew I'd find you here, little bro." Gabriel cooed from the reclining chair near the window.

Dean jumped. "God, I wish you guys wouldn't do that."

"Gabriel?" Castiel called out.

"They said you were granted a little free time so I figured this would be your first stop." He grinned and glanced over to Dean. "I believe my little brother has a hard on for you, Winchester."

Dean raised a brow then made a face. "Wait, uh-"

"Castiel, we need to talk about your choice in men because boy, you sure like them pretty."

"Whoa, hey, I am not pretty!" Dean growled. "I'm adorably handsome~"

Gabriel grinned. "Oh, I like him, brother."

Castiel rolled his eyes, another thing he learned from Dean. "Gabriel, why are you here?"

"I thought you should know that Raphael has gone missing, along with Hael. We're assuming that Hael fled with Uriel but we can't be sure."

"Should I be hearing this?" Dean asked.

Gabriel raised a finger and grinned. "I don't know, should you?"

Castiel nodded for his brother to continue. He trusted Dean.

"Hael took a few angel blades and a tablet. There's a trace of her but I can't sense Raph anymore."

Castiel ran his fingers through his hair and stood. "I will search." He looked at Dean and smiled softly. "I will return to you soon, Dean."

Dean heard the flutter of feathers then Castiel was gone. "And you?"

Gabriel stood. "You must be something very special." With those last words, he disappeared too.

"Fucking, angels."

* * *

Castiel didn't return that night so he figured he stumbled upon something involving the missing angels they spoke about.

He had just finished eating and was cleaning the kitchen when he heard his cell phone ring from the living room. By the time he dried his hands the phone stop so he returned to the dishes. A few moments later it rang again and he made it to the phone this time. "Yo, Sammy, what's up?"

"We have a problem."

"What's wrong?"

"I know we're on a break from hunting but this kind of involves us."

"Spit it out, Sam."

"Okay, there's been some killings over in Oregon and those angel blades Castiel told us about, well, six of them were found buried in this guy, I mean like straight through. Then there's the cop who bagged and tagged the blades, he ended up dead. And get this, the blades vanished into thin air and there was some charred substance where the cop was killed. I don't know what's happening but I'm 90% sure it's angel related."

Dean sighed on the other end of the phone. He was going to scold Sam for breaking their not hunting rule but the words, _'angel related'_ had him on board. "You didn't happen to hear about a tablet did you?"

"No tablet mentioned in the paper work."

"Sam, how did you get the paper work?"

"I may or may not be in Oregon right now."

"Sammy, you're supposed to be in school."

"Yeah, which was earlier in the day, I finished my work and it's the weekend so sue me."

"Keep it up and I just might."

"Just get your ass over here, okay, Dean? Cas might be in trouble. Do you know where he is?"

"Chicago." He blurted out. "Wait, what...?" He didn't know how he knew that.

"I forgot about that tracking thing you guys have."

**'Cas, when you're free, I need to talk to you, alright?'**

**'Yes, of course.'**

* * *

Dean left Nevada around 7pm and didn't arrive in Portland, Oregon until 5:30am. He met up with Sam at a motel just five minutes away from the home of the cop who was killed. He couldn't believe that they were back out hunting again but he had to admit, it felt good to get back into the game.

"Alright Sam," he started as he opened the trunk to the Impala. "What the hell is going on?"

"I don't know but we need to check out the dead man's house. The charred substance can help us find out who- or what killed the guy."

Dean nodded and slammed the trunk shut before stopping in front of Sam's car, a Dodge Charger LX. "Really? What is this thing?"

"Don't judge me, Dean. To each his own." He bitch-faced him before heading to the back door of the house.

Dean shook his head and followed.

* * *

"The rest of the house is clean, the kitchen has that stain and it's on the walls too. I can't make out what it is, but it's huge." Sam said, observing the charred shape.

**'Could really use your help here, Cas. There is-'**

"It's an angel." Castiel answered.

Sam and Dean jumped when Castiel appeared behind them. "Cas, we talked about this."

His expression fell flatter than usual. He approached the stain and ran two fingers across it. "It's Raphael."

"What do you mean it's Raphael? Where's the dude's body?" Dean asked.

"Disintegrated, Dean. His body was disintegrated. These are the remainders of his wings." He disappeared soon after revealing that to the brothers.

Dean stood and looked up the wall and to the ceiling. The length was about right. He could tell they were wings now. "Sam?" He reached out and touched the remains of Raphael. "I can feel that this was the guy."

"What?"

"Look, I never met him, but I know it's him. When I touch it, I feel him."

Sam leaned against the counter and stared at his brother. "What in the world would make someone kill an angel?"

"The same reason someone tried to make Cas like these stained wings. Shit, what the hell did we just get involved in?"


End file.
